Chapter 42 If you think sleeping with me would solve everything, why would I have to deal with you for so long?

Lin Zaoyi belatedly realized what she had said...

How could you slur your words like that!

She had no time to be sad or upset. She raised her hand, pretending to wipe away tears, and through the gap in her eyelashes, she glimpsed that the person was staring at her blankly.

Get to work, find something to do and it won't be so awkward.

Just as he put the book in his bag, Tan Zhaojing spoke up, "I'm afraid that won't work."

She looked at him with bated breath, and their eyes met in mid-air, their determined gazes meeting.

His lips moved slightly. "If you think sleeping with someone will solve everything, why would I have to deal with you for so long?"

Lin Zaoyi: "..."

What's the meaning?

Could it be, as Xixi said, that he's addicted?

Feeling a mix of fear, annoyance, and an inappropriate flutter of excitement, she dared not delve deeper, holding her breath, "Can... we go out?"

Instead of answering, he asked, "When are you moving?"

The topic jumped so quickly that Lin Zaoyi was momentarily stunned. "Maybe tomorrow."

He then asked, "Where are you staying?"

There seemed to be no need to hide anything. If Tan Zhaojing really wanted to know something, he could simply move his fingers and his assistant would bring him a pile of documents.

"My mother's house, Green County Mansion."

Then I heard him say, "I'll put my fingerprint in later."

She was quite puzzled. "Why?"

Tan Zhaojing: "Why do you think I gave you time to think it over, not to draw a line between us."

After saying that, he glanced at her and turned to leave.

Lin Zaoyi's mind went blank for a few seconds, followed by frustration. Driven by her emotions, she grabbed a sofa cushion and smashed it against the empty air.

"I won't give it to you!"

There was another knock on the door, this time it was my aunt's voice calling her to dinner.

Lin Zaoyi composed herself and moved downstairs to the restaurant. At the bottom of the stairs, she ran into the Tan siblings.

One ignores it.

The other one, before today, could at least pretend to say hello or something.

From now on, forget it.

In terms of speed, Tan Jiani was the fastest, being the first to go downstairs. She was waiting for her brother to go to the restaurant together, but when she turned around, she saw her brother smiling.

As he stepped down the last step, she pulled him back, asking, "Why were you smiling at Lin Zaoyi?"

Did I laugh?

She said with absolute certainty, "I smiled."

My brother said, "Okay, then I'll laugh."

"??? Wait, why are you smiling at her for no reason?"

Tan Zhaojing turned his head to the side and said, "You should think about how to apologize instead of worrying about me."

Tan Jiani: "!!!"

We took our seats at the restaurant.

The head of the family, Mr. Tan, looked at his daughter, "Jiani."

There were no other words, just a call of name.

Tan Jiani's face was droopy, her lips were tightly pursed, and she practically had her 'unconvinced' written all over her face.

"Is it an apology?" Mingxian smiled nonchalantly. "If so, then there's no need."

He paused, then continued, "Jiani, I'm not sure, but there's a high probability that I'll stay with your father. I'll remember your apology for now, and I'll say it when you're truly willing. If you don't, it doesn't matter; your attitude doesn't affect my quality of life."

After saying that, he tilted his head and turned to his daughter, "Aren't you going to say a few words?"

Lin Zaoyi: "...Can I just say it?"

"OK."

Lin Zaoyi simply said, "Uncle Tan, thank you for taking care of me during this time."

Mr. Tan was taken aback. "You're moving out?"

I couldn't help but ask my wife, "Are you comfortable living here? What's the environment like?"

Mingxian spoke very frankly, "What can I do if I'm worried? I didn't care about her before she was 22. Talking about maternal love now is a bit of moral blackmail."

"As for the environment, you can rest assured, it's an apartment in Green County Mansion."

Mr. Tan opened his lips, but the words he wanted to say turned into a long sigh. "Zaoyi, go home and spend more time with your mother when you have nothing to do."

Lin Zaoyi smiled and said, "Yes."

He overheard Uncle Tan instructing the man, "Green County Mansion isn't far from you. Go check on Zaoyi every few days. No matter how good the property is, it can't compare to seeing it in person."

She quickly replied, "No need!"

"good."

Her voice and Tan Zhaojing's voice fell into the air almost simultaneously. Before she could refuse again, her mother interjected, "Then we'll have to trouble Zhaojing."

Tan Zhaojing: "It's no trouble at all."

Lin Zaoyi: "..."

Mom, you're sending me to the fire.

***

Not long after finishing her meal, Lin Zaoyi received a message from Sister Qiao, asking her if there were any leads on the news regarding the collaboration between the Tan and Ji families.

She typed out two words crisply: 【No.】

[Try your best; I heard Zhao Qingqing has infiltrated the Tan family.]

Zaoyi wanted to say: I've already moved into the interior.

My phone vibrated; it was my mom.

"Come downstairs and chat with me."

"Come up here."

Mingxian knew perfectly well, “Your Uncle Tan went to the company with Zhaojing, and Jia Ni went out too.”

Two minutes later, Lin Zaoyi appeared in the living room with paper and pen. If she wanted an interview, she still had her mother as a shortcut.

We're just chatting anyway, so chatting about the news is the same as chatting.

Before we began, I asked a question: "Mom, how many times have you done an interview with Uncle Tan?"

"zero."

"ah?"

Mingxian smiled and glanced at her daughter. "What's so surprising about that? I was only a sophomore when I was with your Uncle Tan. We broke up during my internship. Since we had already broken up, it was impossible for me to bring it up. Besides, I went to Haicheng to get away from you. By the time your Uncle Tan got divorced, I was already the deputy editor-in-chief of Beijing TV. The KPIs wouldn't be coming down to me."

From her mother's words, Lin Zaoyi only heard her mother's carefree side. For some unknown reason, she asked, almost unconsciously, "Were you sad during those years apart?"

After a few seconds of silence, Mom said, "It's alright. Maybe it's time, or maybe your father will show up. Life doesn't seem so difficult."

To gloss over it all and move on from the past.

She then asked, "Has Uncle Tan contacted you?"

"No, I told him when we broke up that he should never appear in front of me before he became a husband. Uncle Tan did just that, even when he was on a business trip he avoided Haicheng."

Lin Zaoyi nodded silently, then glanced at Tan Jiani standing in the entryway. Judging from her expression, she must have heard what her mother said.

Mingxian's face was completely at ease. She asked casually, "Shall we sit down and chat together?"

Tan Jiani pursed her lips tightly. "No need."

As the figure hurried away, Mingxian withdrew her gaze, smiled, and said, "Look at this awkwardness, just like you."

Lin Zaoyi's tone instantly turned icy cold, "Don't compare me to her."

"You're already angry?" Mom glanced at her. "Lin Zaoyi, where's your tolerance?"

She didn't like to talk, her pen absentmindedly scribbling on the blank page. Before she knew it, an ugly-cute pig appeared, and three large characters were subtly written in the blank space—

Talk about Zhaojing.

"..."

I quickly tucked the paper under the table and continued chatting with my mother, occasionally throwing in a few news items about the Tan family.

After half an hour, several pages of manuscript paper were filled with dense text.

Mingxian felt sleepy and yawned. "Anything else you want to ask? I might not be able to get through to Zhaojing, but the higher-ups are no problem. Do you want me to introduce you?"

Lin Zaoyi didn't stand on ceremony, "I'll contact you if I need anything."

"Okay, I'm going to take a nap."

Lin Zaoyi also felt sleepy and was too lazy to move, so she lay down on the sofa in the living room.

In her hazy state, someone took the paper she was pressing against her chest and thoughtfully covered her with a blanket.

She unconsciously nuzzled against the soft blanket, murmuring in a sleepy voice, "Thank you, Auntie..."